Voltage Inc. Wiki:Manual of Style

This Manual of Style outlines a standard of clean, consistent formatting for articles on this wiki. The formatting described here is a guideline and can be overridden where circumstances warrant it. These guidelines will never be unerringly perfect for every situation. However, please try your best to keep to the advice outlined in this article so others may use your edits as an example when creating and editing their own articles.

These guidelines are a summary of the most important guidelines for this wiki, but a more expansive set of style guidelines can be found on Wikipedia at Wikipedia Manual of Style.

Contents

One of the most important parts of wiki editing is how to structure an article. The structure is a powerful thing: it dictates what information the reader reads and when they read it. It can influence what people contribute, where it goes, and how it might be written. Structure has the power to inform or confuse the same way good or bad writing does. Keep a well structured article, and you're more likely to have a high quality one.

Organize sections in an article in a hierarchical structure like you would an outline. Keep it logical, but feel free to forsake strict logic for readability. Wherever possible, try to have an introduction for each section. Just like the article as a whole, the section should start with an introduction and then have its subsections below it. Try using a shallow structure rather than a deep one. Too many nested sections usually leads to a confusing or unreadable article.

Before editors save an article, particularly before adding a new one, the following points should be considered:

Does the article have a logical structure?

The article should be divided into sections and the sections into paragraphs in a way that makes sense to the reader.

Is the article user-friendly?

The article must be appropriate for users over the age of 13 years old. Ensure that no profanity is used and that spoilers are appropriately hidden using the {{spoiler alert}} template. It is also important that the article is compatible with all major browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome.

Infoboxes are standardized templates that contain an overview of the most important information about the subject of the article, such as their name, a picture, and associations. If the article's topic qualifies for an infobox, it should always be included in the lead section, before the main text. An article should not contain more than one infobox.

Articles always start with an introductory lead section, before the first subheading. The table of contents, if displayed, appears after the lead section and before the first subheading.

The lead should be capable of standing alone as a concise overview of the article, establishing context, and explaining why the subject is interesting or notable. It should be either one or two paragraphs long, and should be written in a clear and accessible style so that the reader is encouraged to read the rest of the article.

The first sentence of the introductory lead section should include the characters name, their relationship to you or occupation, and the game they originate from. For example, write:

When you add information to an article that is not common knowledge, you should add a reference. This can be done by adding, <ref>Details of reference</ref> next to the information that needs to be referenced.

If you use the same reference multiple times within the one
article, you can give it a distinct identifier so it can be reused. Use <ref name="Reference ID">Details of reference</ref> for the first reference. For all subsequent references, only <ref name="Reference ID" /> needs to be used.

Whenever you add a reference, you also need to ensure the page has a reference heading. Under this heading, the <references/> tag needs to added in order for the references to be displayed correctly.

If you find an article that needs a reference, add the {{Citation needed}} template next to the information in question.

Categories should be added to the end of an article—a full list can be found on Special:Categories. They take the form [[Category:Categoryname]]. All articles should be accessible starting from Category:Browse, via subcategories.

Format a long quote (over four lines) as an italicized block quotation, which will be indented from both margins. Do not enclose the block quote in quotation marks. To format a block quotation, do not use the wiki indentation mark ":" — instead, use the HTML <blockquote> element.

Grammar is a writer's toolbox. You can't build good sentences without knowing how to use your tools. Since a wiki article must be as clear as possible for all the people reading it, editors must keep close to correct grammar standards to ensure clear communication.

Titles such as prince start with a capital letter when used as a title (followed by a name): "Prince Glenn", not "prince Glenn". When used generically, they should be in lower case: "Glenn is a powerful prince." The correct formal name of an office is treated as a proper noun. Hence: "Glenn is the current Prince of Oriens."

We now come to the meat of an article: the words themselves. When you're editing wikis, you're both an academic and an artist. You have to be accurate, but you also have to be interesting. Neither one can dominate; you have to skillfully balance both.

Keep your writing concise. Don't use two words where one will do. Keeping your writing simple will make it easy to understand and easy to expand on. Use complete sentences whenever possible. When you write, use grammar as a toolbox: know the rules, but only break them on purpose.

Check your spelling and grammar. Do not use 'u' in place of 'you' or '2' in place of 'to'. Write the way you would for a class paper or a newspaper article.

Keep all of the topics you cover within the scope of the article. What that means is, you don't need to give a detailed history of humans on the page about Winston Churchill. Consider the articles title as your point of origin and write from that perspective. Make use of the wiki's ability to link to more detailed articles or external sources for more information.

Be bold. If you know something is wrong, correct it. If you think you could word something better, write it. If an article has a glaring deficiency, fill it. Even if your first attempt isn't golden, you can fix it later or someone else will come along and fix it for you. Don't be afraid to screw up.

Every article can be improved (even this one). Following these guidelines will not ensure a perfect article the first time, but it will give the article a stronger skeleton. It's ultimately your job as an editor to put meat on it.